Film forms a non-neglectable part of cultural life of India. Not for nothing is Bollywood the largest film-producing industry in the world(in terms of numbers). More than 800 films are brought out in Bollywood each year, and an average of fourteen million people (whoop!) go to movies on a daily basis. Those among us who haven't gone to a movie and enjoyed the experience form a microscopic minority. This brings us to some questions to be pondered over the subject.
Film forms the most popular media of creative expression in our country. So it ought not cause an individual to deviate from the moral line, if not cause a man to be morally better, say the 'art for man's sake' proponents. It is a debate in itself, but let us go further into the subject- the portrayal of women in films.
Lets take a general view of women in Indian films. Who is considered as an ideal woman in our films? Traditionally, an ideal woman is one who keeps herself 'pure'. Description- she should keep her chastity untouched for one man, her man; she should confine herself willfully within the patriarchal prescription of 'a woman's position' in a society. For example, we can identify a 'bad woman' or a 'woman-antagonist' in a film just by observing the way she is portrayed. Normally, she may be wearing tight jeans and apparel, she may be smoking a cigarette, she may be domineering over her spouse, and she would definitely be bold and self expressive. And whenever a woman transgresses the boundaries prescribed by men, the director makes sure that she pays the price. Another common stereotype found in films is that when a good woman falls, like when she loses her purity when someone(villain) rapes her, she must be killed despite her innate goodness, so that the hero of the story escapes from being bond to an 'impure' woman. There are several such instances in Tamil and Hindi films.
But in case if it is the hero who rapes the actress, she tries to win him as husband, because since she is now impure, nobody will accept her according to the directors, and it is her necessity to make him his wife. The recent hit Ranjhaana has also invited some criticisms on this point. The film states indirectly that it was the fault of the lead female to be in close proximity of the hero, and thus inspired his romantic fascinations, though she only had friendly intentions. Had she stayed away from him, she would not have caused him to love her. It is like saying that had the rape victim stayed in house, she would have escaped from being raped.
Other things observable in Indians films is the position of the heroine subservient to the hero, exhibitionism of heroines, the shorter span of star-status of heroine compared to the hero, etc.
But we cant condemn the films alone for bias in it. Films draw heavily from reality. They are but a part of our cultural heritage. What they do is to reinforce certain notions. An action film doesn't normally motivate a guy to take up an AK 47 and kill all his adversaries. But he wold really be enjoying the idea when he watches the film.
The growing prominence of feminism means that there are two kinds of films: women-centric and others. We may have to wait for our films to evolve, and so must our society, when sexism is abolished and both sexes can perform freely for the general improvement of mankind.
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